Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program

Elijah Kakinya

Elijah Kakinya was born in the spring of 1895 at Tulugaq Lake, near the mouth of the Anaktuvuk River valley, and grew up along the Beaufort Sea coast and inland rivers of northern Alaska. As was typical of families at the time, they traveled a lot in search of food resources and often moved seasonally following the animals. During this time, Elijah learned much about hunting, fishing, and survival. He came especially to understand ice conditions near and around Flaxman Island and Beechey Point, since these were places from where he went seal hunting. He lived off and on at Flaxman Island until he was twenty years old. In the winter months, Elijah traveled inland around the Colville River and Umiat area, going as far inland as Anaktuvuk Pass, and returning to the coast in the spring. Eventually, he settled in Anaktuvuk Pass and made that his permanent home. Elijah was known for his hunting and survival skills, as well as for his great knowledge of Inupiaq traditions, stories, and dances. He was always interested in passing on and sharing what he knew. Elijah Kakinya died on July 1, 1986. For more about Elijah Kakinya, see Qiñiqtuagaksrat Utuqqanaat Iñuuniaġniŋisiqun: The Traditional Land Use Inventory for the Mid-Beaufort Sea, Volume 1 (Barrow, AK: North Slope Borough, Commission on History and Culture, 1980) and Nunamiut Stories (Barrow, AK: North Slope Borough, Commission on History and Culture, 1987).

This is a recording of Kenneth Toovak providing a verbal English summary translation of an interview he conducted in Iñupiaq with Elijah Kakinya in September 1978 in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. The interview was for UAF researchers Dr. Lewis Shapiro and Ron Metzner on the project Historical References to Ice Conditions Along the Beaufort Sea Coast of Alaska (Scientific Report, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1979). Ron Metzner is there recording Kenneth speaking in English. Unfortunately, the location of the original Iñupiaq tapes is unknown; the UAF Oral History Collection only has these English audio translations and their transcripts. In this interview, Elijah talks about ice conditions and seal hunting at Flaxman Island, working for the trader Jack Smith and making trips between Beechey Point and Barrow, and living between coastal and inland locations. In particular, Elijah discusses the effect of wind on ice movement, ice piling (Ivu), open leads, grounded and anchored ice, and the presence and movement of polar ice.